Tag Archives: Liza Minnelli

Episode 416. Larry Kert (World AIDS Day 2015)

December 2, 2025Broadway, Canadian Singers, Comic Relief, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Interview, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Twentieth Century MusicAl Jolson, Alan Jay Lerner, Anita Ellis, Anthony Newley, Arthur Bell, Babes in Arms, Bob Merrill, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Burton Lane, Candide, Carol Lawrence, Charles Strouse, Chita Rivera, Cole Porter, Company, David Lewis, Doc Severinson, Donald Pippin, Edward Albee, Elliott Lawrence, Eric Stern, Fred Ebb, George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Harold Hastins, Harry Woods, Harvey Evans, Harvey Fierstein, Ira Gershwin, Jeff Leyton, Jerry Herman, John Kander, John Trivers, Johnny Carson, Johnny Mercer, La Cage aux Folles, La Strada, Larry Kert, Leonard Bernstein, Leslie Bricusse, Let ‘Em Eat Cake, Liza Minnelli, Lorenz Hart, Luther Henderson, Luther Rix, Madeline Kahn, Martin Charnin, Maureen McGovern, Michael Tilson Thomas, Mimi Hines, New York New York, Nymph Errant, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Paul Gemignani, Rags, Ralph Burns, Richard Rodgers, Richard Wess, Richard Whitmore, Richard Wilbur, Robert E. Swanson, Robert Urbanowicz, Shall We Dance, Spring Is Here, St. Louis Woman, Stanley Lebowsky, Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Sondheim, Stop the World – I Want to Get Off, Susan Browning, Teresa Stratas, The Goldwyn Follies, Truman Capote, West Side Story, Will Rogerscountermelody

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Today is World AIDS Day, if anyone needed to be reminded. Though I considered doing a compendium episode of broad scope commemorating a handful of the thousands upon thousands of musicians that succumbed to AIDS, I decided instead to focus on one, Broadway icon Larry Kert, who created the role of Tony in West Side Story and was subsequently an early Robert in Sondheim’s Company, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. On December 5, we observe his 95th birthday. In between these career highs, he was involved in a number of notorious Broadway flops (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, La Strada, and Rags) from each of which we hear rare recordings. And yet during his life, superstardom eluded him. It’s quite likely that some of this had to do with him having lived his life openly and unapologetically as a gay man in a time when most comparable figures were deeply in the closet. But Larry was also a familiar figure on television of that era, appearing as a guest star on popular series, on game shows, on commercials, and as a particular favorite of Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, in which he made 29 guest appearances. He also was often seen as a replacement in and on tours of popular musicals such as Cabaret, Two Gentlemen of Verona, I Can Get It for You Wholesale, and, finally, La Cage aux Folles, to name just a few. In that last show, his frail health meant that he had to miss significant numbers of performances, though he continued to make important appearances on stage and on recordings until just shortly before his death on June 5, 1991 at the age of 60. On the episode, we hear him with such legendary co-stars as Teresa Stratas, Liza Minnelli, Chita Rivera, Madeline Kahn, Maureen McGovern, Mimi Hines, and Harvey Evans, as well as his WSS co-star Carol Lawrence. We also trace the support and influence he received over the course of his career from his trusted friend Martin Charnin, who played a sometimes surprising role in Kert’s career. Though Larry Kert felt that he never received the recognition he deserved, this episode demonstrates how he stood at the forefront of all Broadway tenors of his generation, as well as past and future ones.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and author yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 195. Forgotten Broadway III

May 5, 2023African American Singers, Comic Relief, Crossover, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Twentieth Century MusicAdolph Green, Al Carmines, Albert Hague, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Beatrice Arthur, Ben Bagley, Benny Golson, Betty Comden, Bob Merrill, Bud McCreary, C.C. Courtney, Carol Burnett, Colin Romoff, David Baker, Diana Davila, Donald Pippin, Dorothea Freitag, Dorothy Fields, Frank Loesser, Fred Ebb, Frederick Dvonch, Galt MacDermot, Gary William Friedman, George David Weiss, Gilbert Price, Glenn Paxton, Gwen Verdon, Hal Hackady, Howard A. Roberts, Howard Hastings, Inga Swenson, Ira Siff, Jack Lawrence, James Stenborg, Jay Blackton, Jerry Bock, Jerry Herman, John Guare, John Kander, Judd Woldin, Judy Garland, Jule Styne, Karen Morrow, Keith Mansfield, Larry Grossman, Lisa Kirk, Liz Callaway, Liza Minnelli, Luther Henderson, María Irene Fornés, Marian Grudeff, Martin Charnin, Mary Tyler Moore, Melba Moore, Mike Preston, Mitch Leigh, Moose Charlap. Norman Gimbel, Mort Lindsey, Peggy Lee, Pembroke Davenport, Peter Link, Phyllis Robinson, Polly Bergen, Ralph Carter, Raymond Jessel, Richard Kiley, Richard Rodgers, Robert Brittan, Robert Goldman, Robert Weede, Salena Jones, Saul Schechtman, Sergio Franchi, Sheldon Harnick, Stan Freeman, Stanley Lebowsky, Stephen Sondheim, Susan Romann, Ty McConnell, Walter Willison, Will Holt, William Alfredcountermelody

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Last summer, I produced a miniseries of episodes on Countermelody entitled “Forgotten Broadway,” the third and final segment of which was originally published as a bonus episode for my Patreon supporters. This week, my last one for the moment in New York City, is a busy one, so I have decided to pay tribute to the city by publishing that third Forgotten Broadway episode for all of my listeners. As I was preparing the series last summer, I enlisted the input and expertise of my dear pal John Coughlan. Like the first two episodes in the sequence, this one is once again, a veritable potpourri of delights, vocal, interpretive, and musical. It begins with a tribute to birthday icon Carol Burnett, who, at the beginning of her career, appeared in two different Broadway musicals, the second of which, 1964’s Fade Out Fade In, is featured. Additional shows presented include, among many others, Salvation, Raisin, Mack and Mabel, Redhead, I Had a Ball, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Baker Street, performed by such favorites as Lisa Kirk, Melba Moore, Gwen Verdon, Robert Weede, Mary Tyler Moore, Rosemary Clooney, Liz Callaway, and Peggy Lee, alongside such lesser-known lights as Diana Davila, Walter Willison, Salena Jones, and Gilbert Price. In addition, there is the “added plus” [sic] of Bea Arthur delivering a comic monologue from the 1955 Shoestring Revue that will have you in absolute stitches. And just for the gays (and all those with equally good taste), Judy and Liza each stop by, Judy to deliver a Frank Loesser show-stopper, while Liza offers more of “A Quiet Thing,” from her first Broadway show Flora the Red Menace.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

Episode 148. Judy Garland @ 100

June 9, 2022Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Twentieth Century MusicAdolph Green, Alan Jay Lerner, Arthur Schwartz, Barbra Streisand, Betty Comden, Bob Merrill, Bobby Cole, Bronislaw Kaper, Burton Lane, Carl Sigman, Carolyn Leigh, Charles Chaplin, Cole Porter, Cy Coleman, David Lee, Gene Palumbo, Geoffrey Parsons, George Forrest, Gilbert Bécaud, Gus Kahn, Harold Arlen, Harry Robinson, Howard Dietz, Ira Gershwin, Jack Yellen, Judy Garland, Jule Styne, Julia Ward Howe, Larry Conley, Liza Minnelli, Lorenz Hart, Max Meth, Milton Ager, Mort Lindsey, Norrie Paramor, Richard Rodgers, Robert Wright, Roger Edens, Ted Koehler, Tony Osborne, Walter Jurmann, Willard Robison, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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On Friday 10 June 2022, Judy Garland celebrates her 100th birthday. My Pride 2022 series kicks off with a close examination of Judy’s status as gay icon, as well as my claim that Garland was, is, and remains the world’s greatest entertainer of all time. As always with Countermelody, the proof is in the performances, and I share a generous sampling of recordings, primarily from the final years of Judy’s life, that bolster that claim. Included are performances of songs by Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Ted Koehler, Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Jule Styne, Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner, Cole Porter, Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh, Gilbert Bécaud, Wright and Forrest, Schwartz and Dietz, Charles Chaplin, and others, in live recordings from The Judy Garland Show, which ran for a single season in 1963-64; live concert performances from New York, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Philadelphia, and Copenhagen; and a smattering of rare studio recordings. I also discuss the impact of Judy’s enormous talent impact on my own life, as well as her still-substantial numbers of worldwide fans. Vocal guest stars include two other classic gay icons, Barbra Streisand, and Judy’s own daughter, Liza Minnelli.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.